Railway-switch and operating means therefor.



UNITED STATES iatented October 13, 1903-.

PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR J. BACKER, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 741,571, dated October 13,1903.

Application filed February 9,1993. Serial No.142,485. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR J. BACKER, of Syracuse, in the countyof Onondaga, in the State of New York,have invented new and useful Improvements in Railway- Switches and Operating Means Therefor, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in electrically operated railway -switches in which the switch point is automatically thrown to the desired position by electricallyoperated means through which the circuit is closed by a suitable device provided on the car under the control of the operator, whereby the switch may be readily shifted by an approaching car without stopping said car.

The object of this invention is to enable the motorman to throw the switch by means of an electrical device operated by the power current without leaving or stopping the car, thereby saving time and insuring the ope'ration of the switch at night, when it would be impossible to locate the position 'of the switch until the car was in close proximity thereto.

Another object is'to inclose the switch-op erating device within the switch-point, so that the same is concealed and protected from the elements.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a dia-f grammatic view of a main track and a turn out of a railway system, showing the trolleywire and the means for diverting the current to the switch-operating device. Fig. 2 is an enlarged top plan, partly in section, of the switch-point and its operating mechanism. Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views taken, respectively, on lines 3 3 and 4 4:, Fig. 2.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts'in all the views.

In the drawings, 1 represents a main track,

rail of the turnout and extends a consider-' access to the chamber 11.

the direct track and is adapted to be thrown tothe opposite position by electrically-open ated means, presently described, when the motorman desires to switch the car onto the turnout. This switch point is pivotally mounted at one end upon the frog 4:, which frog is provided with an upwardly-projecting stud or bearing 6, and the switch is provided with a hub 7, projecting upwardly from its lower wall 8 and encircles the stud 6, suitable ball-bearings 9 being provided at the upper and lower ends of the stud and hub for permitting the easy swinging action of the switch-point, said hub being secured to the switch by laterally-projecting arms 10.

The pivoted end of the switch-point is provided with an inner chamber 11, which is entirely inclosed on all sides, the upper wall benormally closed bya removable plate or cap 13, the purpose of this plate being to permit Mounted within this chamber 11 is a pair of electromagnets 14, which are secured to a block 15 of insulating material, and this block 15 is in turn secured to one end of a fixed arm or bracket 16. The

other end of the bracket16 is secured to the Ifixed uprightstud'or bearing 6 and preferably extends through a slot 17 and is provided with an extension 18, to which is attached one end of a spring 19, the other end of said spring being secured to one of the side walls of the switch-point. The spring 19 is the mechanical means for holding the switchpoint' in its normal position, as seen in Fig. 1, so that the car will always take the main track unless the switch-point is thrown to the other position by the electromagnetslat.

It is evident from the foregoing description ing provided with an opening 12, which is and Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings that the electromagn'ets are fixed from movement at one side of the pivotal bearing or stud 6 and constitute the electrical means for moving the switch-point in one direction ,while the springmotor 19 is connected to the fixed extension 18 and to the heel of the switch-point at the opposite side of the stud or hearing 6 and constitutes the mechanical means for throwing the switch-point in the opposite direction, yieldingly holding it in this position.

In order to permit the rocking movement of the hub 7 relatively to the bracket 16, said hub is provided with slots or cut-outs 21 in its front and rear walls for receiving the fixed bracket or arm 16, these slots or cut-outs being of sufficient circumferential length to permit the free movement of the switch-point to its extreme opposite positions without friction between the hub and the bracket.

One end of the coil of the electromagnets 1a is electrically connected by the wire 22 to a conductor or outside rail 5, the other end of said coil being grounded through the the dium of a wire 23, which is here shown as connected to the switch-point, it being understood that said switch-point is of conducting material, such as cast or wrought iron, and that the rails of which the switch'point forms a part are grounded in the usual manner for electric-railway systems.

I have thus far described the switch-point and the electrical and mechanical means for controllingits action, and I will now proceed to describe the means for controlling the flow of the electric current through the conductor 22 and magnets 14. This means preferably consists of a contact member, such as a brush 24, which is mounted upon the car and is adapted to be forced into electrical contact with the conductor 5 when the car is approaching the switch and it is desired to take the siding or turnout. This contact member is electrically connected by a conductor 25 to the trolley-wire 26 through the medium of the trolley-pole 27, which is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1, a suitable electric switch or circuit-breaker 28 being placed in the connection between the contact member and trolley-pole, so that the circuit through the contact member maybe broken when desired.

The operation of the contact device is controlled manually by the motorman or other attendant andis here shown as mounted upon one end of a bell-crank lever 30, to which is connected a foot-pedal 31, whereby the contact member 24 may be forced into contact with the conductor 5 by simply depressing the foot-pedal 31 against the action of a spring 32, said spring serving to return and to hold the contact member in its normal position.

In order to prevent the accumulation of dirt, snow, or other refuse in the path of the switch-point, I provide the side walls of the frog upon which the switch-point is mounted with opening 33 and vertical bars 34., which bars are pointed or V-shaped at their inner edges to facilitate the passage of the debris through the opening 33.

In the operation of my invention suppose the car to be moving in the direction indicated by arrow m, Fig. 1, toward the switchpoint and it is desired to switch the car from the main track onto the turnout, then as the car approaches the switch the motorman depresses the pedal 31 against the action of the spring 32, and thereby forces the contactbrush 24 into a position to contact with the conductor 5,which is in electrical connection with the magnets 14. As soon as the contact takes place,which it does considerably in advance of the point of the switch, the circuit is closed from the trolley-wire through the conductors 27, 25, 5, and 22, through the magnets, and thence to the ground through the medium of the conductor 23 and the rails. This energizes the magnet 14, which attracts an armature forming a part of one of the side walls of the chamber 11, and therefore rocks the switch-point in the direction indicated by arrow y, Fig. 2, to throw the switch-point to its other extreme position away from the outer rail of the side track, which permits the car to readily run on the siding or turnout, it being understood that the conductor 5 is of sufficient length to permit the rear wheels of the car to pass the switch-point before the brush 24 leaves the advance end of the conductor 5, the object of this being to maintain the current through the magnets until all the wheels of the vehicle have passed over beyond the switch-point, and as soon as this is accomplished the brush leaves the conductor 5 and is returned to its normal posi tion by the spring 32, thereby breaking the circuit through the magnets and permitting the motor 19 to return the switch-point to its normal position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patout, is-

1. In combination with a railway switchpoint having a chamber therein, an electric circuit, an electric switch-point-operating device located in the chamber and connected in said circuit, and means to close the circuit through said device.

2. In combination with a railway switchpoint having a chamber therein, an electric circuit, an electric switch-poilit-operating device located in the chamber and connected in said circuit, an exposed electric conductorin electric connection with said device, and

means on the car to close the circuit through the conductor for the purpose described.

3. The combination with a railway switchpoint and electric circuit, of an exposed electric conductor, an electric switch-point-operating device located within the switch-point and electrically connected to said conductor, a contact device on the car connected in the circuit, and means to contact said contact device with the exposed conductor to close the circuit through the switch-point-operating device for the purpose set forth.

4:. In combination with a railway switchpoint, means to close the switch-point in one position, an electric circuit including electrically-operated means located in the switchpoint to throw it to its other position, an ex- ICC lIO,

posed conductor in the circuit and electrically connected to the electric switch-point-operating means, and amanually-operated device on the car to close the circuit through the exposed conductor.

5. In combination with a railway switch point pivotally mounted at one end, and provided with an interior chamber, an electric circuit, anelectromagnet located in the chamber and operating to throw the switch-point in one direction, mechanical means to throw the switch-point in the opposite direction, an electric conductor connected in circuit with the magnet, and a contact device on the car for closing the circuit through the conductor and magnet.

6. In combination with a support having a fixed stud or bearing, a railway switch-point journaled on the bearing and provided with an internal chamber and an opening through one of the walls of the chamber, a closure for theopening, an electric circuit including therein an electromagnet located in the cham- 

